Disclaimer: No.
Thanks to Din's Daughter (I l.o.v.e. your penname!), Hikari inai kasumi (what does that translate into? It sounds pretty!), Random, C.P., Random, Lady Rini, Coco...
The Black Thirteen
Stage the Second: First to Last and Back to the Past
"Now..." The King started, pacing back and forth in front of Sora, who was sitting on a chair, and the Queen, who was standing beside the chair, "Your brother, Roxas, was sent to the castle of my loyal barons, the castle residing near the Atlantica Sea, the castle of Atlantica."
"Right." Sora nodded, feeling dread kneading his soul. It was so nerve-wracking he couldn't stand it! Now Sora was definitely sure what this feeling was: Something happened to Roxas. It would explain his overwhelming anxiety. Ever since they were little, they had not always been as close as Sora had liked them to be, but there had been some kind of uncanny connection between them. Sora remembered that one time Roxas had hit his head very hard on the fireplace due to some event that Sora couldn't really remember, and his brother had experienced a concussion. During that time, Sora could remember he had the worst of headaches.
As a matter of fact, his head ached just thinking about the headache! Whenever either of them felt something strongly, whether it be an emotion or pain, the other was sure to feel a slight twinge of it too. So Sora was sure that either Roxas had been kidnapped or--or...no, Sora couldn't bring himself to even think of that option. But the words of Lady Daisy echoed back into his mind, "Or in a battle, the squire could get killed.."
"As you may have heard, the castle was attacked by a small renegade force from Square. It seemed to have been independant from the Queen, so I do not think a retaliation is proper. You must understand that, Sora." The King said, taking a deep breath, "It was an unexpected attack, since it was at night..." It 'was' at night. It happened a couple of days ago? Then again--then again, news traveled by chocobo. The castle of Atlantica and the capital were on opposite sides of the continent.
"What happened?" Sora stood up, wanting to know. If he didn't know what happened to his brother soon, his anxiety would kill him, "Your Majesty, I must know what has happened to my brother!"
"It is with a heavy heart that I say this, Sora," The King started, and Sora's face fell as he froze, "But we were not able to recover his body. My deepest condolences."
"Wha..." Sora blinked, his mind repeating the words over and over again in his head. He didn't seem to understand how this could've happened. No, this was just a sick joke. That was it. The King was pulling a sick joke on him because he eavesdropped. Roxas hadn't died, that was the most foolish thing Sora had heard in his life! But, as much as Sora tried to believe that it was just a sick joke, he knew it wasn't. The distraught face on the King's face said it all. Sora glanced at the Queen, maybe hoping for some glimmer of hope, but only saw the same expression that was now written on the Queen's face. Now written on his face as well. "He died..." Sora repeated slowly, "My brother died...in action."
"It is any man's wish to die on the battlefield. An honorable death, no doubt." King Mickey said, "We will all honor his valiance on the battlefield."
"But..." Sora's voice was so void of emotion, it hurt to listen to his voice, "You never found his body. He could've used the battle as a cover-up and ran away...or could have been kidnapped."
"I believe," Queen Minnie started, placing a sympathetic hand on his arm, "That your father taught you boys to have more honor than to just drop everything and run. The likelihood of kidnapping is very slim."
"Unless they knew your brother was one of the de Luz family." King Mickey said, "And there is no way of telling if you are one or not, so unless he told them they couldn't know. After all, they know how great the knights of your family grow up to be. It would be a fatal blow to us if they kidnapped your brother and somehow convinced them to fight for them."
"Yeah, you don't need to tell me that." Sora said dully, brushing past the King and Queen, not even bothering to do bow to them before exiting the room. Their Majesties understood why Sora just...couldn't. He probably felt betrayed by Disney that they'd just let his brother die like that. Though that was clearly not the case, any well-informed person would know that if you're desperate enough you'll put the blame of someone's death on anyone you can. Even if it happens to be the King and Queen.
On the other side of the world, a very, very groggy blonde was beginning to stir. He moaned, rubbing his head, and realizing he had the worst headache he had ever experienced in his entire life.
Worse than the concussion he had received a long time prior. He blinked his azure eyes, glancing around his surroundings. Roxas' first thought was that he was in Heaven. The whole room was white, and a girl who was the epitome of an angel was standing over him. With platinum blonde hair cascading over one shoulder and pale blue eyes staring into his azure ones inquisitively, the girl certainly had an oddly tranquil and seraphic aura about her. Something that soothed Roxas' headache to the slightest.
"Oh, you are awake!" The girl exclaimed, smiling brightly and taking his hand, "Thank goodness! I was so afraid that you were never going to wake up!"
Roxas blinked, his headache making the things the girl was saying a bit fuzzy. Instead, he just asked, "Am I dead?" Come to think of it, Roxas didn't remember dying. All he remembered was saying that he would not yield, and now he's lying in this stranger's room with a serious headache.
The girl giggled, gripping his hand a bit tighter, as if he would die if she let go, "No, no! You are alive. We have been anxious for days now when you would awake! Though, when Sir Axel brought you in, your head was bleeding terribly and we really thought that you might have died. But I am so glad you are not dead! I could not simply bear it to see anymore people to die within these walls!"
Roxas rubbed his head, realizing it was bandaged. What had happened was clear to him now that the girl explained it, "I experienced a concussion when I was little. I hit my head around here," He placed his hand on the top of his head, wincing slightly as that was the center of the pain swirling around, "Which was where that redhead hit me. He must have re-opened the wound."
"Oh, I am sorry! I wish he would not have resorted to such barbaric methods, but I suppose it is better than letting your life halt! I could not possibly imagine such a fate happening to you, Sir Roxas de Luz!" The girl said sweetly, letting go of his hand. Her sickeningly sweet personality might have really bothered him had she not been so...genuine with her words. You could tell she meant what she said.
"Sir?..." Roxas blinked. That title was for knights, and he wasn't a...oh, right. He had been knighted by that redhead. What did she call him? Alex? Felix? Wheelie? "Who are you?" He asked, and he supposed he had a rude tone in his voice. Well, he couldn't help it. He felt like his head was splitting open and he was suddenly whisked away to this strange place. Anyone in their right mind would be rude.
The redhead, from before, said(Roxas hadn't even realized he was in the room until he spoke up), "Hey! Watch your mouth. This is the Queen you're talking to! Show some respect. Got it memorized?"
"The...the Queen?" It took Roxas a while to get the information processed through his brain. He immediately jolted up, his mouth slightly ajar, and stared at the girl, "The Queen!" He began to think of Queens that were as young as this, and could only come up with one simple solution, "You're the Queen of the Square Kingdom?" He was shocked that this girl, this sugar-coated fragile little doll, was the Queen. Not to mention her age!--hadn't her parents died four years before? Roxas forced himself to shut his jaw as all this amazement was not helping his headache. Wait a minute--he was in Square? It took weeks to reach there and...sighing, Roxas laid back down and groaned.
The girl laughed and curtsied, "That would be me, Her Majesty Queen Naminé Strife the Radiant. Or, if you would like to just call me Naminé that is fine. You are Sir Roxas de Luz of Disney, correct?"
"Yeah..." Roxas said, looking at her again. She didn't look that old, and Roxas had to bite his lip to keep from saying anything about her age. He couldn't tell how old she was by her appearance, but he could tell she wasn't much younger than himself.
"Shall we leave you alone now so you can recover?" The Queen asked, tilting her head slightly.
"No, that's alright. Unless you have business to attend to, since you're the Queen and all." Roxas said, taking a deep breath as he processed all of the information slowly. What was going on here? The redhead brought him back here? Why? He wasn't important--wasn't important enough to be saved like that.
She smiled and turned to the redhead, Alex or Felix or something, and said, "I think I shall stay here to make sure Sir Roxas de Luz of Disney is alright. I do have something to address to him as well, and I do not think your presence would make things better."
Alex or whoever sighed and then bowed his head, "Alright, alright, I'm leaving. Geez, what happened to the pushover?" He mumbled, the Queen glaring at him as he quickly left.
"You have something to tell me, Your Majesty?" Roxas asked, his headache feeling slightly better. But it still felt like someone dropped an anvil over his head. At least he could understand what the Queen was saying now, and it wasn't like communicating with someone underwater.
"Yes." The Queen nodded her head, her voice faltering slightly. However, she did not show her confidence, or rather, lack thereof, in her face, but it was as present as daylight in her voice. She hid it rather well, sugar-coating it with her sweet personality, but Roxas picked up on it quite easily, as in his younger years he wasn't the most confident kid himself.
"You're afraid you're not doing a good job as Queen. You're afraid you won't live up to your parents' names." Roxas said blankly, not realizing what he just said. It was sort of automatic, he could see that she held the same aspects of her personality that he held in his in his younger days. Though he had long since discarded care for what his parents thought of him.
"Huh?" The Queen seemed startled, and then her face fell. "O-Oh...you're right. Is it that obvious?"
"No, it's just..."Roxas shrugged, "I know how you feel. My parents belittled me because I am the youngest in my family. Even if it is by four minutes. But still, the rule is in Disney that the oldest gets all the inheritance from the family. So due to my parents' coddling of Sora," Roxas didn't bother to add in who Sora was; everyone knew the de Luz twins, they were practically celebrities, "I felt left out and ignored."
"We are both the same." The Queen smiled softly, "My parents never thought I would be a good Queen due to my 'pushover' personality, as Sir Axel puts it. I am trying to be strong, but it is really, truly very hard..."
"You're doing fine." Roxas smiled back at the Queen, then added, "So, what did you need to talk to me about, Your Majesty?"
The Queen smiled again, "Please, since you are not my subject, just call me Naminé. I cannot remember the last time someone has called me that."
"Alright, Naminé." Roxas said, having no problem with calling the Queen her regular name. She was right, after all, since Roxas showed no loyalty(at least, not yet) to the Queen or the Kingdom of Square, he assumed it was alright to just call her Naminé.
"Now that is over..." She placed her hands in her lap and said, "I am so sorry to impose this onto you especially since you are recovering, but you realize you are a knight of Disney, correct?" When he nodded, she continued, "And you are in Square territory. You are considered dead in the land of Disney."
Roxas froze, trying to get his mind on the thought of them crying over his supposed 'death', "Wait...How do you know that?"
"It is common sense." Naminé said plainly, "If they did not find your body on the battlefield, the first thing to think of is that you died and Sir Axel threw your body into the sea. They have reason to think that because knights are not supposed to attack those of lower class, so to avoid shame Sir Axel would have to get rid of evidence that he ever attacked you. I assure you that is their thought pattern. Most don't follow the rules of chivalry, after all." She gave a weak smile.
Roxas bit his lip, and suddenly, his image of them crying over him disappeared. He didn't like it at the Castle of Atlantica anyway, and no one really liked him. He could imagine maybe Melody or even Lady Ariel shedding a tear, but that was it. As for his brother and his parents, Roxas imagined them jumping for joy now that they got him out of the way. An intense loathing for them sprouted from this thought, one he couldn't shake. 'No one would miss me if I had died.' He thought bitterly.
"As it is now, your allegiance currently lies with the Disney Kingdom. But please," Naminé grabbed his hand again, the warmth of her hand bringing Roxas out of his bitter thoughts, "I would love nothing more than for you to switch your allegiance."
This took him by surprise. Someone actually wanting him to fight for them? And a beautiful Queen, no less. "But I'm only fourteen! I barely started my training as a squire--"
"But yet you are a knight. Surely such a promising beginning will lead to a promising future, no?" Naminé said, then smiled, "I am sure Sir Axel will not mind teaching you all of the things you have missed out on, Sir Roxas de Luz of Disney."
"No." He shook his head, "Sir Roxas de Luz of Square."
She clasped her hands to her heart, gasping in surprise. She smiled gleefully, her grin reaching from ear to ear. Even Roxas had to smile just seeing Naminé's expression. "Oh, do you really mean that, Sir Roxas de Luz? Really and truly?!"
"Really and truly." He said, nodding. He didn't think of the consequences his decision may have had right then. His parents probably wanted him dead anyway, that way they wouldn't look like creeps for not offering anything(many parents often ignored the rule) to Roxas and everything to their beloved first son. Who, by the way, was only older by a life-changing four minutes. Roxas would be able to understand if it was four years, but... He bit his tongue just thinking about it. Not getting respect anywhere he had gone, at home, at Atlantica, just made him so mad! But he felt that being here would be different, which is one of the reasons why he accepted her offer.
"Oh, thank you, Sir Roxas de Luz! Now that you are my knight, you know of the ceremony in which I will officially knight you, right?" She asked, her eyes glittering with daydreams and fantasies.
"Ceremony? But..." Roxas frowned. Ceremonies with sparkles and celebration weren't his thing. But seeing the disappointed look on the Queen's face made him feel terrible. He couldn't help it, he had some sort of weak spot towards her and that face, so he said, "Oh, alright. I'll go through with your ceremony..."
"Oh, really?" The Queen smiled, "I promise you, that you will not look stupid! If anything, you will look so handsome that all of the ladies in my castle are sure to drop dead for you!" She said, and then they both blushed scarlet.
"Including you, Your Majesty?" Roxas asked brazenly. He just had to, it was begging to be asked. He could just use his headache as an excuse for acting a little out of line in front of a Queen.
Naminé blinked. As a Queen, she was taught not to hurt her disciple's feelings, so she had to say 'yes', but she didn't want to say the truth, either...Caught between this ambivalence stirring in her heart and mind, a call from a voice Roxas didn't recognize broke her away from her thoughts just when she was about to make her decision. "Oh, I will be there in a minute, Sir Xemnas! Sir Roxas de Luz, I shall see you later!"
As the Queen bid adieu and left in a rush, Roxas couldn't help but grin. 'A Queen thinks I'm hot...heh, wait 'till Sora hears about this.'
Little did Roxas know, it would be years before he saw his brother's face...